AMONG the many and various titles of the Supreme
Being in the scriptures of truth, is that of a Builder, or Architect; as it is
written, "the BUILDER of all things is God". Pursuing this
suggestion, I remark, that "a wise master builder" never begins to
build without a design. He draughts this after a scale
of so much to the foot. This is the extension, or time, so to
speak, of the building, or edifice, to be erected. Having well considered the
whole, he concludes that it is the best possible plan that can be devised in
harmony with the rules and principles of architecture. The plan then becomes
his "purpose", his "fore-ordination"' "predestination",
or design. All subsequent arrangements are made to conform to this recorded
purpose, because it is the very best his most deliberate wisdom and ingenuity
could devise; and no extraneous suggestions, or considerations, will cause him
to diverge in the smallest iota from his predestination.
The next thing the Builder does is to collect
together all the necessary materials, whether of brick, stone, lime, sand,
wood, or aught else that may be needed. If a spectator desired to know what all
these crude matters were heaped up together in one place for, the architect
would reveal to him "The mystery of his his will which he had purposed
in himself", (Eph. 1:9) by submitting the draught of his plan, in all
its lines, circles, angles, etc.; and he would describe to him such an
arrangement of the materials as would impress the spectator's mind with an
image of the edifice, though it would fall infinitely short of the reality when
perfected.
If we suppose the edifice, call it temple, or
palace, to be now finished, the architect would next order the rubbish, or
materials which were left as unfit to work into the building, and therefore
worthless, such as broken brick, splinters, shavings, sand, and so forth, to he
cast out to be trodden under foot, to burn, (Mal. 4:3; Matt. 5:13) etc. Thus
the edifice is built out of the accumulated materials, according to the outline
of the draught, or purpose of the Builder; and the work is done.
Now, as the scripture saith, the Great Builder of
the heavens and earth is God. "His hand hath laid the foundations of the
earth, and his right hand hath spanned the heavens." The Builder of all
things either left the elements of the world to a random and accidental
aggroupment, or, He "ordered them in all things". Where is the man
among "philosophers" who will stultify, or idiotize himself by saying
that the Creator permitted chance to elaborate the terrestrial system? The
thing is absurd. Chance is defined to be the cause of fortuitous,
or accidental everlts. What is that cause? The fool says in his heart it is not
God. Why does he say so? Because he would make the cause of all things, a mere
physical disposition in matter, destitute of all intellectual and moral
attributes, in order that he may get rid of all responsibility to such a Being.
He hates truth, righteousness, and holiness, and therefore he vainly strives to
persuade himself that there is no God of a truthful, righteous, and holy
character.
But no man of any pretensions to sound mind would
affirm this. Nothing has been elaborated by chance. The scriptures declare that
everything was measured, meted Out, and weighed; and
that the Spirit of the Lord executed His work without any to counsel or
instruct Him. As it is written, "He has measured the waters in the hollow
of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the
earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance. Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor,
hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who
instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him
knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?" (Isa. 40:2)
God, then, had in His own mind a pattern, or
design, of all the work that was before him, before He uttered a word, or His
spirit began to move. This design, or archetype, which placed the beginning and
the end of all things before Hiir~in one panoramic view, was constructed in
harmony with the principles -- the eternal principles of His vast, unbounded
realm; which coincide with the immutable attributes of His character. The work
He was about to execute was for His own pleasure ; as,
saith the scripture, "Thou hast created all things; and for thy pleasure
they are, and were created ". But, when the work is finished, which, for
His own pleasure, God labours td elaborate, what will it consist i'~ ?
This inquiry we make as the spectators of the
wonders of creation, providence, and redemption. We behold the materials of
these departments of Eternal Wisdom, and we ask to what are all things tending?
What temple, or edifice, is the Divine Architect raising for His own pleasure
and glory? If we turn our thoughts within us, there is no voice there which
unfolds the philosophy of His doing; if we soar into the heavens, or descend
into the sea if we search through the high places of the earth -- we find no
answer; for "Who hath known the mind of the Lord, who hath been his
counsellor, or who hath instructed him?" If we would ascertain what God designs
to elaborate out of the past, the present, and the future, we must be content
to assume the attitude of listeners, that He may
reveal to us from His own lips what He intends to evolve in the consummation of
His plans.
God, then, has caused a book to be written for
our information as to His design -- His ultimate purpose in the works of
creation, providence, and redemption, which are the three grand divisions of
His labour; and which are all tending to the development of one great and
glorious consummation. This Book, so graciously bestowed, and so inimitably
written, is vernacularly styled THE BIBLE; or, scripturally, THE WRITINGS and
sometimes THE HOLY WRITINGS. These are divided into two parts, popularly styled
the Old and New Testaments. The appeals made by Jesus and his apostles to the
writings were to what is now termed the Old Testament; for there were no other
writings acknowledged then. The New Testament was not written in the beginning
of the apostolic era. Indeed it was not so much needed then; for the apostles
taught orally the things, which afterwards they in part committed to writing.
The breathings of the spirit enunciated through the spiritual men of the
churches, supplied the place which the New Testament now occupies. The writings
of the prophets, which are the root and foundation of the New Testament, and
without the understanding of which the latter is unintelligible aright, are
divided into "the law and the testimony; or "the law, the prophets,
and the psalms"; altogether they are styled THE WORD. This, with "the
testimony for Jesus" left on record by the apostles, makes the "word
of the Lord" to us, which lives and abides for ever.
All writers and speakers must be unceremoniously
tried by this; for, God hath said, that "if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them". It matters not who
the sinner may be; pope, cardinal, archbishop, bishop, minister, or their
admirers; or, even one of the saints of God, or an angel himself; nothing he
may say, or write, must be received unless in strict conformity to this word;
and of this the people must judge for themselves upon their own sensibility;
and in the face of their eternal weal, or rejection from the Kingdom of God. To
this Book, then, we appeal for light -- for information concerning the things
which shall be hereafter.
If we take up an ordinary book, how could we
proceed to ascertain the end the author had in writing his book? We should read
it through carefully, and thus having made ourselves acquainted with its
contents, we should be prepared to answer the question intelligently and
accurately. Why do men not do so with the Bible? God is admitted by all
sensible persons to be the author; Moses, the apostles, and the prophets, are
but His amanuenses to whom He dictated what to write. If then the questions be
put, what end had God in view in the six day's work of the creation? in His subsequent providential arrangements in relation to
men and nations? and in the propitiatory sacrifice of
the Lamb of God? -- we proceed in the same way with
the Bible in which He tells His own story; and answer according to the light we
may have acquired.
Now the Book of God is peculiar in this -- it
narrates the past, the present, and the future all in one volume. We learn from
the accuracy of its details in relation to the past and the present, to put
unbounded confidence in its declaration concerning the future. In ascertaining,
therefore, the ultimate design of eternal wisdom in the creation of all things,
we turn to the end of the Bible to see what God hath said shall be as
the consummation of what has gone before; for what He has said shall be the
permanent constitution of things, must be the end which He originally designed
before ever the foundation of the earth was laid.
Turn we then, to the
last two chapters of the Book of God. What do we learn from these? We learn
from them, that there is to be a great physical and moral renovation of the
earth. That every curse is to cease from off the globe; and that it is to be
peopled with men who will be deathless, and free from all evil. That they will
all then be the sons of God, a community of glorious, honourable,
incorruptible, and living beings; who will constitute the abode of the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb, the glory of whose presence will evolve a brilliancy
surpassing the splendour of the sun. The globe a glorious dwelling place,
and its inhabitants an immortal and glorious people, with the indwelling
presence of the Eternal Himself -- is the consummation which God reveals as
the answer to the question concerning His ultimate design. The following
testimonies will prove it:
"The inheritance of the saints in
light" (Col. 1:12) "An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven" (1 Pet 1:4) -- "I, John,
saw a new heaven and a new earth, and there was no more sea. And I saw
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out
of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great
voice out of heaven saying, The tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself will be with them, their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain; for the former things (or the "heaven and
earth" in which they existed) are passed away. And he that sat upon the
throne said, Behold I make all things new, And he said
unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done; I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life
freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and
he shall be my son"; (Rev 21:1-7) "and there shall be no more
curse". (Rev 22:3)
Now, the creating of all things new
implies that the constitution of things which precedes the new creation was an
old system, that
had answered the end for which it was arranged in the first instance. This old
system, styled by John "the former heaven and earth", is manifestly
the system of the world based upon the six days' creation; for "the former
things" which had passed away in the vision were the sea, death, sorrow,
sin, the curse, and all their correlates. This old creation, with its temporary
mediatorial constitution, then, is but a grand system of means, elementary of a
still grander and inconceivably more magnificent creation, which will be of an
unchangeable and eternal constitution. The old Mosaic physical heavens and
earth are to the new creation as the accumulated materials of a building are to
the edifice about to be built: and hold the same relation to the new heavens,
as the natural system does to the spiritual. We repeat, then, that the creation
of the six days, which we have termed Mosaic, because Moses records their
generations, was not a finality; but simply the beginning, or ground-work of
things, when God commenced the execution of His purpose which He had arranged;
the ultimatum of which was, to elaborate BY TRUTH AND JUDGMENT, as His
instrumentality, a world of intelligent beings, who should become the glorious
and immortal population of the globe, under an immutable and eternal
constitution of things.
Such is the superlative of the matter. The
physical creation of the six days is positive; there was an ulterior,
however, as well as an ultimate purpose in the work. The ulterior is the
comparative; the ultimate, the transcendent excellency
of the design. The Almighty Builder of all things intended not to translate the
whole human race from a state of sin and death at once into a state of
unmingled good and glory. He foresaw that the living race would never be fit
for this; but that they must be previously disciplined and prepared for the
transition. Hence, he proposed to develop an INTERMEDIATE STATE upon the
earth, and among the nations of mortal men contemporary with it; in which,
good and evil would still be commingled, but differing from the preceding state
(the present) in this, that, though evil would continue to be, sin should not
have dominion over the world, but be dethroned by righteousness. We have styled
this state intermediate, because it is designed to occupy a middle
place between the present times of the Gentiles, and the unchangeable
constitution of the globe, when there will be "no more sea", and all
men will be immortal.
This ulterior, but not ultimate, constitution of
things is alluded to in these words: "God hath made known unto us
the Mystery of his will, which he hath purposed in himself according to his
good pleasure: that in the dispensation of the fulness of the times appointed
he might gather together in one, all things in Christ, both which are in the
heavens, and the things upon the earth, in him". (Eph 1:9,10) This elliptical allusion to the revelation of God's
will, or purpose, is strikingly interpreted by the following passages from the
word. "The
"There shall be given to the Son of Man
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
may serve him; his dominion is an EVERLASTING DOMINION which shall not pass
away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and all dominions, or rulers,
shall serve and obey him." (Dan. 7:14, 27)
"The Lord," Jesus, "shall be king
over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his Name
one." (Zech. 14:9)
"The Lord of Hosts," Jesus, "shall
reign on
"The righteous dead shall live again, A
thousand years with Christ to reign." (Rev 20:6)
"The nations shall beat their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into scythes: nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isa 2:4)
From these testimonies, it is manifest to all
minds, unspoiled by a "vain and deceitful philosophy", that, in the
Economy of the Future Age, all kingdoms, states, and empires; and all people,
nations, and languages, are to be gathered together into one dominion under
Jesus Christ. These are the "things in the heavens", and the
"things on the earth", which, grouped together into one imperial
dominion, will constitute an economy of things that will be wonderful and
glorious. We see, then, what God hath declared shall be -- an IMPERIO-
REGAL HIERARCHY OF IMMORTALS, which, UNDER ONE CHIEF, shall possess
all power and authority over subject nations in the flesh. By such a
constitution of things as this upon the globe for 1000 years, the human race
will have furnished from the foundation of the world a sufficient multitude of
righteous men to people the earth when there shall be "no more sea".
Till this economy begins, the previous 6000 years will have furnished scope
sufficient to obtain an adequate number of kings and priests from
After this exhibition who will lack the ability
to answer the question -- Why hath God made of one blood all nations of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth; and determined the previously-appointed
times; and the bounds of their habitation? The answer is, He created a human
pair and subjected them to the law of procreation, that they might so multiply
as to refill the earth; He divided their posterity into nations by the
confusion of tongues; determined the times of their self-dominion; and set
limits to their territorial extension -- that, in the fulness of time, the
materials of A KINGDOM AND EMPIRE OF NATIONS might exist, which He would confer
upon a king, and such other regal associates as in His own good and Sovereign
pleasure He should think proper to appoint.
The segregation of mankind into nations, then, is
not accidental, or the result of mere human policy. It is a divine appointment.
Human wisdom was opposed to it in the beginning; and if Socialists, Peace
Societies, and such like, could carry out their schemes, they would commingle
the nations into one indiscriminate "universal brotherhood", and
abolish all times and bounds of habitation.
The projectors of the city and
The development of this imperio-regal
constitution of nations is the one grand idea of the divine writings. It is the
subject matter of the gospel of the kingdom and peace of God. All other divine arrangements concentre in this as the great focal
truth of human redemption and terrestrial regeneration. The needle is
not more true to the pole, nor planetary attraction to
the sun's centre, than are the things of the prophets and apostles to this idea
of an Israelitish kingdom and empire of nations. To lose sight of this is to
remain in hopeless ignorance of the faith and hope, which God has graciously
set before us in His word; and to lay ourselves open to every species of
delusion that the carnal mind, so fertile of evil fruits, may enunciate in opposition
to the "mystery of the divine will".
Enlightened by the scriptures of truth, we are
enabled to discern that the present system of the world is but the aggregate of
the means through which God purposes to accomplish two grand developments
-- the one near; and the other a thousand years more remote. The
creation of the six days, and the peopling of the earth with nations of mortal
men, is the mere preparation and collection together of the raw materials for a
great, glorious, and magnificent display of wonders upon the earth. Hitherto,
these materials have been shaped, or reduced, from chaos into form, by the
modifying influence of truth and divine judgment. But for these agencies
"a universal brotherhood" of savages, such as we behold in the vast
howling wilderness of Africa and America, would have shared the globe with the
nobler beasts of the forest unmitigated socialism after this type would have
effectually superseded all ecclesiastical and civil association; or, if this
extreme had given place to another, the world would have groaned under the
ferocious despotism of a "brother of the sun and moon", a Nero, or of
a Pope Alexander VI.
But truth and the sword of God have been thrown
into the scale of human events. Multitudes have embraced that truth in whole or
part; vastly more, however, in part than as a saving whole. According to their
apprehensions of it, they have resolved themselves into party groups. A
minority -- a great minority, so great as to be styled
"a few", have seized upon it in letter and spirit. These
contend against everything opposed to it without regard to fame, property, or
life; they contend, however, not with the sword of the flesh, but with
"the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God". Not so, however,
they who embrace it in part, corrupt it by admixture with human tradition, or
reject it altogether. They fight for their opinions, as their means enable
them. They who corrupt or reject it endeavour to suppress it vi
et armis, by force, not of argument, but by clamour, misrepresentation, and
proscriptive laws; and where they can find no scope, by imprisonment, war, and
murder.
But there are others who understand the theory of
the truth to a considerable extent, but have only that spirit of liberty and
sense of justice in them which the truth inspires; without that disposition to
suffer patiently and unresistingly for it, which it inculcates. Men of this
class take the sword for liberty and the rights of men; and contend against all
who would destroy them with a courage which strikes terror into their enemies.
By such agency as this, by action and re-action, by agitating the truth
revealed, and the warlike conflict it produces among the nations, things have
been shaped into the civil, ecclesiastical, and social constitution of things,
which prevails upon the earth in the present age; and which, having waxed old,
is ready to vanish away.
In view of these things we come upon a very
interesting, and indeed, immensely important enquiry, namely: "Upon what
principle, or principles, did the God of heaven propose to carry out His
purposes in relation to the developing of rulers for the kingdom and empire of
nations; and for the peopling of the globe under its eternal and incorruptible
constitution?" Was it upon a purely intellectual, or a purely moral, or a
purely physical and mechanical, principle; or was it upon all these conjoined?
For example, He peopled the present world by first creating a human pair, and
then placing them under the natural, or physical, laws. Will he provide kings
and priests for His kingdom, and afterwards people the globe in its perfect
constitution, by natural generation, and physical regeneration; or, upon some
other principle revealed in His word? Will He bestow the honour, glory, and
dignity of His kingdom and empire upon men, because they are men; or because
they are descended by natural birth from righteous ancestors? Or, will men
inhabit the globe for ever, because they are flesh, and the offspring of His
creative power?
It will doubtless be admitted, that upon whatever
principle God might determine to operate, it would certainly be such a one as
would redound most to the glory of His wisdom, justice, and sovereign power,
This being conceded, we would enquire, would it have been to the glory of God,
if He had made man a mere machine? -- had He made inexorable nesessity
the law of his nature, which he must yield to as the tides to the moon, or the
earth to the sun? No reasonable man would affirm this. The principle laid down
in the scripture is that MAN HONOURS GOD IN BELIEVING HIS WORD AND OBEYING HIS
LAWS. There is no other way in which men can honour their Creator. This honour,
however, consists not in a mechanical obedience; in mere action without
intelligence and volition, such as matter yields to the natural laws; but in an
enlightened, hearty, and voluntary obedience, while the individual possesses
the power not to obey if he think best. There is no honour, or glory, to God as
a moral being, in the falling of a stone towards the earth's centre. The stone
obeys the law of gravitation involuntarily. The obedience of man would
have been similar had God created and placed him under a physical law, which
should have necessitated his movements, as gravitation doth the stone.
Does a man feel honoured, or glorified, by the
compulsory obedience of a slave? Certainly not; and for the simple reason, that
it is involuntary, or forced. But, let a man by his excellencies command the
willing services of free men -- of men who can do their own will and pleasure;
yet voluntarily obey him, and, if he required it, are prepared to sacrifice
their lives, fortunes, and estates, and all for the love they bear him; would
not such a man esteem himself honoured, and glorified, in the highest degree by
such signal conformity to his will? Unquestionably; and such is the honour and
glory which God requires of men. Had He required a necessitated obedience, He
would have secured His purpose effectually by at once filling the earth with a
population of adults, so intellectually organized as to be incapable of a will
adverse to His own -- who should have obeyed Him as wheels do the piston rod
and steam by which they are moved -- the mere automata of a miraculous
creation.
But, saith an objector, this principle of the enlightened
voluntary obedience of a free agent is incompatible with benevolence; it
would have prevented all the misery and suffering which have afflicted the
world, if the globe had been filled at once with a sufficient number of
inhabitants, who should all of them have been created perfect.
If the character of the All-wise were constituted
of one attribute only, this might have been the case. But God is the sovereign
of the universe, as well as kind and merciful; and all His intelligent
creatures are bound to be in harmony with His name. He might have operated on
the objector's principle had it pleased Him but it did not; for He has pursued
the directly opposite course. Instead of creating a human pair, He could,
indeed, have filled the earth with immortals, and left them blessed for ever.
But then they would have been without character, neither virtuous nor vicious;
and, like themselves, their world would have been without a history. God is not
merely an intellectual, He is also a moral, being.
"The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God"; yet
"merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth;
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generations of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto
thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments".
Such is the name, or character, of God; hence, as
all His works must glorify Him, they must redound to His praise as a merciful
and gracious, a just, holy, and truthful, being. The sun at noon-day, the moon
walking in brightness, and the stars in their courses, illustrate His eternal
power and superhumanity; but it is only His relations with intellectual and
morally constituted creature -- the image and likeness of Himself -- that can
illustrate His moral glory, and redound to the honour of His name.
Seeing that God had rejected the principle of stern
necessity and immediate physical perfection, there remained but one other,
according to which He could officer His kingdom and empire; and at length flll
the globe with an order of beings "equal to the angels". Upon this
principle He has worked from the foundation of the world to this day. He made
man a reasonable creature, and capable of being acted on by motive, either for
weal or woe. He placed him under a law, which required belief of God's word
and obedience. He could obey, or disobey, as he pleased; he was "free
to stand and free to fall". He disbelieved God's word; he believed a lie,
and sinned. Here was voluntary disobedience; hence, the opposite to this is made the principle of life namely, belief of whatsoever
God saith, and voluntary obedience to His law. This is the
principle to which the world is reprobate; and to a conformity with which all
men are invited, and urged by the motives presented in the scriptures; even
all who would inherit the
The following testimonies will elucidate the
principle of the divine economy. "I will give unto him that is athirst
of the fountain of the water of life freely; and he that overcometh
shall inherit all things:" -- "Blessed are they that do his
commandments that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and that
they may enter through the gates into the city"; -- "To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the
Paradise of God"; -- "He shall not be hurt by the second death";
-- "To him that overcometh and keepeth my works to the end, I will
give POWER OVER ALL NATIONS: and he shall RULE THEM with a rod of iron";
-- "If thou doest well thou shalt be accepted"; -- "These things
are written that ye may believe, and that believing ye may have LIFE through
his name"; -- "As many as received Jesus, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name, which are
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but
which are born of God"; -- "Except a man be born of water and the
spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God"; -- "He that believes
the gospel and is baptized shall be saved "; -- "God will render to
every man according to his deeds; to them, who by patient continuance
in well doing SEEK FOR glory, honour, and immortality -- ETERNAL LIFE"
But of testimonies there is no end. The law of
the Lord is perfect, and without a single exception. There are no
"perhapses", or "maybes"; it is not "yea and nay, but
Amen in Christ Jesus". The only way to the
Now from these testimonies it is plain, that to
attain the rank of the sons of God in the eternal world -- where, indeed, all
are sons without exception -- human beings, without respect to age, sex, or
condition, must believe and obey the truth; for "without faith it
is impossible to please God". This rule provides for no exceptions; but
declares the principle without qualification. If faith then be required, it is
manifest that God designed to move men by motive, not by necessity --
but by intellectual and moral considerations.
Now the carrying out of this principle
necessarily involves great loss of human, or animal
life; for if virtue be the subject of reward, vice must also be of punishment.
Because, if vice were unrestrained, it would gain the ascendancy; eradicate
virtue from among men as before the flood; and defeat the principle upon which
it is proposed to effectuate the work, and thus destroy the original design.
The mere fact of dust, by the power of God
expressed in creation and the physical laws, assuming the form of men, does
not, therefore, entitle them to the glory of the Future Ages; or expose them to
the alternative of damnation in eternal death. These are doctrines predicated
upon a moral, not a physical constitution of things. The destiny of the animal
world, and that of men, is physically the same; they are all under God's
physical laws, and consequently have "no pre-eminence" the one over
the other. Man differs from other animals, as these differ from one another;
and if his race attain to the angelic nature,
which God designs it shall, it will not be because it is human, but because it
is voluntarily obedient to His laws.
The peopling of the Future World upon this
principle we have proved from the Word. It is a principle which annihilates all
human sophisms and traditions about "the salvation of all mankind";
the "predestination of some to salvation, and of others to damnation by a
stern, inexorable necessity"; "physical regeneration before
death"; "the disembodied existence of immortal souls in heaven or
hell for ages before the resurrection"; the "damnation and salvation
of infants, idiots, and pagans"; "purification by death and
resurrection without previous remission" -- and much more unscriptural,
irrational, and absurd jargon of the schools and systems of the age.
Universalism, a wide-spreading upas in the world,
which teaches that all human beings, of whatever age or character, shall dwell
with God eternally, is based upon a mistaken notion of God's purpose in the
formation of the animal world. It is assumed by that shallow system of
speculative theology that His intention was "the greatest possible good to
the whole creation". This certainly was not His design; for the principle
I have demonstrated is utterly subversive of it. The voluntary obedience of
free men implies the possibility, as well as the probability, of their voluntary
disobedience predicted upon the known capriciousness of human nature. Now,
as the very existence of God upon His throne depends upon the suppression, and
therefore punishment, of sin (which is sorrow and pain so long as life lasts),
the greatest possible good to all men, in the universal sense of the word, was
no part of His design, being incompatible with the principle and end in view.
"The greatest possible good of the whole creation", then, being no
part of His purpose, it is a mere conceit, the idea that God wills the
immortalization and glorification of every member of the human family. He has
purposed no such thing. His design requires only the separation from the
nations of a sufficient number of men and women to occupy the globe when
constituted on an eternal basis, without sea, be that many or few.
"What a paltry, contemptible few",
exclaims one, "compared with the immense mass of human flesh and blood
which will have existed on the earth for 7,000 years". Granted; but what
is needed more than a suflicient population for the renovated earth? If this
immense mass of corruption and sin, living and dead, had listened to the voice
of reason, if it Would have believed God and obeyed
Him, an adequate provision would have been made for them; but they would not,
and the consequences inevitably follow. The principle is an eternal one. It is
persistent as God Himself; a principle without an exception, and as
uncompromising as the truth.
The case of the thief on the cross only
establishes the rule. He believed in the kingdom of God, and acknowledged Jesus
while in his lowest estate as "King of the Jews" and therefore future
monarch of the nation. He was by constitution one of "the children
of the kingdom", (Matt
It is proved, that the revealed mystery of God's
will, which He has purposed in His own mind, is first to found a kingdom and
empire of nations, which He will bestow on the crucified and resurrected King
of the Jews, and upon all those who believe the doctrine, or word, concerning
it, and become obedient to the faith; and secondly, at the end of 7,000
years from the foundation of the world, to renovate the globe, and to people
it with immortal men "equal to the angels", who shall all have
attained to the eternal state and to the possession of all its transcendent
glories, on the principle of believing His "exceeding great and precious
promises", and of lovingly and voluntarily obeying His laws.
Behold, then, the conclusion of the matter. There
are two systems, or worlds -- the one the animal and natural; the other the
spiritual and incorruptible; and between these a mixed state, being partly
animal and partly spiritual, which may be termed the transition state.
Out of the natural system, as the materials and scaffolding of the building, God
purposes to elaborate "the ages of the ages" with all that shall
pertain to them. Thus constituted, the globe will become a glorious province of
the universe, and a new imperial abode of the Divine Majesty. It will then be a
sealess (Rev. 21:1) and luminous sphere, and peopled with myriads of
inhabitants of equal rank and station with the angels of God.
The means by which, from the beginning, He
determined to accomplish this magnificent work, were, first, by His creative
energy to lay the foundation; secondly, by constitutional arrangement and
angelic oversight, which men term "providence", to shape, and
overrule all things, so as to work out the end proposed; thirdly, by tbe moral
force of truth, argued and attested; fourthly, by judicial interference in
human affairs; and lastly, by re-creative energy in the renovation of the
earth. when the gigantic work is perfected, the
edifice will be complete; and the top stone imposed with joyous acclamations,
saying. "Grace! grace unto it!"
DISSERTATION ON
THE ELOHIM.
The principles of universal grammar require in
general that a "verb agree with its nominative in number and person";
as, the spirit moves, the waters roar. Here the spirit is of the
singular number, and third person; and so is the verb moves; hence they
agree in number and person "the waters" is of the third person
plural, and so is roar; hence they also agree. But in the first chapter
of Genesis, this rule appears to be disregarded by the spirit, under whose
guidance Moses wrote. In the first verse it reads, Berayshith bara Elohim, i.e., in the beginning Elohim created. In
this sentence bara is the verb in the third
person singular, and Elohim a noun in the third person plural; so that
they do not agree according to the rule. For an agreement to ensure, either the
noun should be Eloah, or El, in the singular, or it should remain
as it is in the plural, and the verb should be changed to barau; as barau
ELOHIM (they) created. But it does not stand thus; it reads literally
(the) Elohim (he) created.
Speaking of Elohim, Dr. Wilson says "That
this noun, which is not unintentionally here joined With
the singular verb bara, is nevertheless really plural, appears not
merely from its termination im, but by its being frequently joined with
adjectives, pronouns, and verbs in the plural. Vayyomer Elohim nashah adam betzalmainu, i.e., Elohim said, 'Let us make
man in our image'." Mr. Parkhurst, in his lexicon under the word alah,
cites many passages where Elohim is associated with other plurals. Upon close
examination there will be found no goood reason to question the conclusion,
that Elohim is a noun plural, and signifies "gods".*
But Elohim
has also a singular usage: "Thy throne, 0 God", (Elohim) -- Psa 45:6,
spoken of Jesus. See also Jacob and the angel (Gen. 32), and other instances.
But why the plural Elohim, gods, should have been
associated with a singular verb in this chapter, Hebraists have been much
perplexed to answer satisfactorily to themselves or others. Grammar failing,
they have had recourse to dogrnatism to explain the difficulty. Dr.Wilson truly
remarks that "Elohim is not unintentionally here joined With
the singular verb"; though in my opinion Messrs. Wilson and Parkhurst have
widely mistaken the intention. They imagine that it was intended to reveal a trinity of persons in one essence, or, as some
express it, "society in God". Dr. Wilson observes that "Let
us make man is an expression of consultation, and marks a difference in
man's creation from that of other creatures in point of importance. 'Let us make man' regards the animal nature; 'in
our image', denotes his spiritual nature, which alone could resemble the
Deity. 'Let us make', etc., 'in our image, after our
likeness.' Here is the plurality three times expressed, and that in the
first person a manifest agreement with, and proof of, the Scriptural doctrine
of a plurality of the Deity, to which, as God is one in essence, we give
the name of persons".
Elohim, "a name", says Parkhurst,
"usually given in the Hebrew scriptures to the ever-blessed Trinity".
He Wrote a pamphlet against Dr. Priestley and Mr.
Wakefield to prove a plurality of Elohim in Jehovah. If the reader understand
who the Elohim are, this will appear an extraordinary' instance of learned
ignorance and folly. It is equal to undertaking to prove, that there are three
princes in one king; or three angels in an archangel. In one thing, however, I
agree with him entirely, namely, that a plurality of agents is denoted
in the Mosaic history of the terrestrial creation. By faith we understand that
the spirit, Or word, operated in, by, and through them, in the formation of all
things terrestrial; but that all these agents were in the divine essence,
constituting society in God", is too great a camel for my power of
deglutition.
A first principle with me in all reasonings upon
this subject is, that "There is one God and Father of all, who is above
all, and through all, and in all" His spiritual family. Another axiom is,
that "He is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of
Lords; who ONLY hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto; WHOM NO MAN HATH SEEN, nor can see". (1 Tim
"No man", says Jesus, "hath seen
God at any time"; but Adam, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, saw the
Elohim and their Lord; therefore Elohim does not necessarily mean the
Everlasting Father Himself.
Elohim is a name bestowed on angels and orders
of men. It is written, "Worship him, all Elohim". (Psa 97:7) This
is quoted by Paul (Paul's quotation is verbatim from Deut 32:43 - not Psa 97)
in the first chapter of Hebrews, as a command of the Everlasting Father to the
angels, that they should do homage to the Lord Jesus as His Son, when He shall
introduce him into the world again at the opening of the Future Age. It is also
written concerning him, "Thou hast made him a little lower than the
Elohim". Paul applies this to Jesus, saying, "We see Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels". He continued inferior to them a
little upwards of thirty years, from the birth of the flesh to his
resurrection; when he was exalted far above them in rank and his resurrection;
when he was exalted far above them in rank and dignity, even to the "right
hand of power", which is enthroned in light, where dwells the Majesty in
the heavens.
Those to whom the word of God came through Moses
are styled Elohim, as it is written, "I have said, Ye
are Elohim; and all of you children of the Most High; but ye shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes". (Psa 82:6; John 10:34) "Thou shalt
not revile the Elohim, nor curse the Ruler of thy people"; (Exo
Furthermore, it is a well established principle
of the sacred writings, that what the Everlasting Father
does by His agents, He is considered as doing Himself. There is a maxim
in law Similar to this, which runs somehow thus, qui facit per alios, facit
per se, what one doth by, or through, others, he does of himself. If this
be borne in mind, many seeming incongruities will be harmonized. Thus, the
Lord is said to have appeared to Abraham, as he sat in his tent-door; (Gen
18:1) but when he first caught sight of the visitant, he did not see the Lord
but "three men", or Elohim, of whom one was the chief. Read the whole
chapter and to verse twenty-nine of the next, and it will be seen that the
Everlasting God talks and acts by, or through, these Elohim, but chiefly
through one of them, styled the Lord God.
In another place, God is said to appear to Jacob,
(Gen 39:5) and, in the eleventh verse, to say to him, "I am God
Almighty"; and in the thirteenth, "God went up from him in the place
where he talked with him". He was then at
On a certain occasion, the Invisible God spake to
Job out of the whirlwind, and said, "where wast thou when I laid the
foundation of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath
laid the measures thereof? Declare, if thou knowest. Or, who hath stretched the
line upon it? Or, who laid the corner stone thereof: when the Morning Stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job could not
answer these questions. He knew, doubtless, what the Elohim had done; but
"touching the Almighty", by whose spirit they operated, "we
cannot", said Elihu, "find him out". The Elohim were these
Morning Stars and Sons of God. Jesus is styled "the Bright and the Morning
Star", "the Day Star", and the Son of God. To say, therefore,
that the Elohim are Morning Stars and Sons of God, is
to speak in the language of scripture.
The relation of the Elohim to Him that dwelleth
in the light in the work of creation and providence may better appear by the
following illustration. Experimental philosophers can form water, air, and
earths; they can bring down lightning from the expanse; they can weigh, or
rather calculate the weight of, the sun, moon, and stars; they can speak by
electricity; paint by sunlight; and outstrip the wind by fire. These are
wonderful combinations of their genius. But what have these they did not
receive? And from whom did they receive it? They subject certain substances to
certain conditions. They do not originate a single principle. The elements and
the laws to which all simple and compound bodies are
subject, are independent of the experimenters. They may say, "Let water be
formed"; and by passing the electric spark through the gaseous mixture,
water will be formed; but it is the power of God that doth it, and not theirs.
After a like manner, the Elohim gave the word;
they brought the latent elements of the globe into play; they gave direction
and application to power; and the Spirit of the Invisible God accomplished all
they were commanded to arrange. The Spirit of the Incorruptible God
through the Elohim created the heavens and the earth. They said,
"Let there be light"; they saw that it was good; He
made the expanse: they called it heaven: -- He did it all through them;
and they executed by His power what He enjoined. This power, or Spirit, being
committed to them, it became "the Spirit of the Elohim".
Hence, in the beginning, the Spirit of the Elohim created; which being plainly indicated in the second verse of the
first chapter of Genesis. needed not afterwards to be repeated; so that
throughout the chapter, "Elohim" is written instead of "the
Spirit of the Elohim", and is found in connection with a singular
verb, not as its nominative, but as the governed word of the nominative
singular, ruach, Spirit, understood. This is the solution I offer of
this grammatical enigma.
It is a part of the "strong delusion"
which has supplanted the truth, to suppose that the Invisible God left the
throne of the universe on a visit to this region of immensity, where, like a
mechanic building a house, He worked in creating the earth and all things
therein. After this fashion He is supposed to have made man; and when His
mechanism was complete, to have applied His mouth to his nostrils, and
"breathed into him a particle of His own divine essence, by which he
became a living and immortal soul".
Such a procedure on the part of the "Only
Potentate", whose abode is in the light, and whose servants, the Elohim,
are innumerable, would have been unfitting His dignity and underived
exaltation. He has revealed Himself to us as a Potentate, a King, a Lord, etc.;
now, they who fill these stations commit to others the service of executing
their will and pleasure. And thus it is with the Invisible and Eternal
Potentate. His kingdom ruleth over all. His angels, or Elohim, mighty in
strength, do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His words. They are
His hosts; His ministers, that do His pleasure. (Psa 103:19-20)
In the light of this revelation I understand the
Mosaic record of the creation. It pleased the King Eternal nearly six thousand
years ago to add a new habitable province to His dominion; not by an original
creation of a globe, but by the re-constitution of one already existing as one
of the solar planets. He commanded His angels to go and execute the work
according to the order detailed by Moses. They hearkened unto the voice of His
word; and in six days finished all they were commanded to do. But without His
power they could have effected nothing: therefore, in
the history all things are referred to Him. He willed; the Elohim executed by
His Spirit.
All the lower animals are more or less observant;
but the Serpent was the most so of all the Lord of the Elohim had made. It
noted the objects around it, and among these observed the "gods",
or "Morning Stars and Sons of God", to whom it told Eve she should be
like if she ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. In the Hebrew
the word rendered "gods" is Elohim, the same as occurs throughout the
first chapter. From what other source but the sight of its eyes, unless by
divine inspiration, could the serpent have derived information about the
"gods"? It spoke of what it had seen and heard. But the animals were
still without a king; therefore, said the Chief of the Elohim, "Let us
make man in our image." There was none like the Elohim of all the
creatures they had made; therefore, they determined to make an animal after
their form. They shaped him with head, limbs and body like their own; so
that he stood before them the earthly image of the celestial Elohim. As much
their image as Seth was the image of his father Adam. (Gen 5:3)
We have not said that man's likeness to the
Elohim consisted in his being "very good"; but that the Spirit of God
formed him "very good" in the same sense that it formed all other
animals so. They were without character; so was he his goodness was physical,
not moral; that of the Elohim was both.
Yet, in a certain sense, man was formed in the
likeness of the Elohim. This likeness, we have already shown, but may repeat here, consisted in the man's ability to
manifest mental phenomena like theirs; and in his susceptibility of an
exaltation to their nature and rank, upon the same principles as they had
attained thereto. By this similitude he was distinguished from all the
other animals they had formed. He was constituted like to the Elohim, though of
inferior nature. He could manifest intellect and disposition even as they, and he could know evil as they had done.
Dr. Wilson observes that the phrase " 'Let
us make man' is an expression of consultation, and marks a difference in man's
creation from that of other creatures in point of importance." To
this I have no objection, and I believe that the "subtle serpent"
overheard the consultation, and was, therefore, able to tell Eve that there was
a particular in which she should be like the Elohim, ka-elohim, by
eating the fruit, in which she could not resemble them unless she did eat --
viz., in "knowing good and EVIL". In this point, man was
unlike the Elohim when pronounced "very good". Nor was this item of
the temptation a falsehood, for the Lord of the Elohim said to His celestial
companions, "Behold, the man hath become AS one of us, to
know good and evil", (Gen 3:22) In this, then, the man became still more
like the Elohim, and in this likeness he hath continued ever since. But thanks
to the Invisible God and Father of the saints, man is placed under a law uf
progression. His prototype has gone before. He was himself made "a little
lower than the Elohim", for he took not upon him their nature, but
assumed that of the seed of Abraham. His nature, however, is now like theirs,
being spiritual, that is INCORRUPTIBLE AND IMMORTAL. "We shall be
like him", says John; hence, also, "equal to the angels", as
Jesus hath himself affirmed. (Luke 20:36)
The Arch-Elohim said that the man had become LIKE
one of themselves in the matter of knowing good and evil. This also is
an argument for his likeness to a plurality of persons; and it further shows
that the Elohim were Once in a condition similar to
man after he had transgressed. The Lord of the Elohim himself declares that
they also had been experimentally sensible of evil, for this is the idea
expressed by the Hebrew word YADA, to know. In short, it is credible
that none of the Elohim of the only Potentate's dominion were created immortal;
but earthly, or animal, like Adam. The eternal King is the only being who is
originally immortal in any sense, hence it is written
that "He only hath immortality". The immortality of all other intelligences
is derived from Him as a reward for the "obedience of faith". Just
men at the resurrection of the First Fruits will be equal to Elohim.
Shall we say that these "Morning Stars and
Sons of God" did not attain to the spiritual nature by a progression
similar to man; seeing that he "who was made so much better than
they", even Jesus, the "Bright and the Morning Star", was
"made perfect through sufferings"? Have they had no trials to endure;
no probation to pass through for the refining of their faith as gold is tried?
It is credible, rather, that they were once animal men of other spheres; that
in a former state, they were "made subject to vanity not willingly";
that while in the flesh they believed and obeyed God with the self sacrificing
disposition afterwards evinced by Abraham; that their faith was counted to them
for righteousness; that they succumbed to death as mortal men; that they rose
from the dead, and so attained to incorruptibility and immortality as the
Elohim of the Invisible God.
Our mundane system is but the pattern of things
in other worlds, which may ere this have attained to that perfection which
awaits the earth; and probably an illustration of what may even now obtain in
other planets where the inhabitants have not yet progressed beyond the animal
and probationary era of their history. Our angels, or Elohim, those I
mean of the heavenly hosts, to whose superintendence terrestrial affairs are
consigned, until the Lord Jesus shall assume the reins of government; not all
the Elohim, but those of them related to us "always behold the face of
God", and minister His will towards the sons of men. This is their glory
-- a part of their reward. He sent them to form and fill the earth with living
souls. They executed their commission according to His purpose.
BEHOLD THEN THE CONSUMMATION! Mortal and
corruptible beings like ourselves become Elohim, mighty in strength, and
framers of new worlds, of which the planet we inhabit, even in its present
state, is a grand and glorious specimen. "Behold", says Jesus, once
an infant at the breast, powerless in death, but now endued with all power,
"I make all things new." He will educe from the things which
exist, a new and magnificent world, as a fit and appropriate habitation for his
companions, redeemed by his blood from the sons of men. This is the destiny set
before those who shall become "equal to the angels" by a resurrection
to eternal life.